Humanity and our world are hanging on by a thread, and with the fascist of the two American political parties denying the globe’s vulnerability so they can strip it for all it’s worth, reality is a motherfucker. An extinction event would not be this world’s first, though it might be the first where the beings that suffer the demise deserved every bit of it.

I’m not saying Adon’s self-titled debut is about that very thing, but it’s fairly close. On this six-track, 48-minute blackened death mauler, the band—vocalist Æthelwulf II, guitarist Nath—dig back through folklore and examine destructive cycles that repeat, wondering what it might be like when our existence comes to an end. Grim, sure. But this style of music always has been known to be confrontational, and to go back and examine errors of past generations would do us some good. By the way, this record originally was released as part of The Metalhead Box collection, but Neuropa caught wind and gave this album a full release on CD and vinyl with a deluxe layout, offering it fresh, volatile new life.

“Ascension” blisters out of the gates, crushing with black metal force, howls lashing as the leads pick up the intensity. The shrieks turn creakier, firing up the fury, blasting downhill recklessly and right into “Æther” that storms from the start. Beastly howls mix with a thunderous, stirring assault that figures out a way to feel fluid and sooty at the same time. The pace drives harder as the speed becomes a greater factor, clashing as howls scorch, spilling into calmer strains that drain out with clean playing. “Adon” runs a massive 16:43, and despite its epic length, it makes the most of the space it occupies. Organs, drilling guitars, and a vicious streak combine, choral calls encircling, the riffs jabbing and smoldering. Flutes flutter as the gaze thickens, entering a mystical realm, a long instrumental section searching and slipping, the playing erupting. Guitars lather as group calls surge, wrecking and simmering to a humid finish.

“Azimuth” explodes with terrifying howls and drilling, blistering playing, the guitars torching flesh, the leads lathering with blood. The aura turns eerie and mauling, the violence slipping into strange environments, the destruction shedding into ash. “Axiom” tears open, stomping as the guitars spiral recklessly, the guitars bubbling over and simmering in blood. Melody re-enters and overwhelms with power, the playing spews lava that eats through flesh, and a synth blast adds a frigid coat to the back end of the track. Closer “Æon” runs a healthy 11:03, entering from a strange, yet thorny realm, crazed shrieks exploding out of the chaos as the guitars add to the fury. Choral calls add a strange element to your dreams, and the playing turns hypnotic in stretches, leaving you feeling for a steady place to regain balance. The drums mash as icy punishment clutches your throat, the intensity spiking for a final time, an impenetrable fog swallowing everything whole.

Adon’s immersion into the possibility of what lies after our world ends is not new to metallic lore, but it’s always worth reexamining when newer artists try their hand at that brand of storytelling. That adds a compelling thrust to the band’s blackened death metal that sounds huge and enthralling, making them a decent breakthrough candidate to find favor among underground fans and the ones who relish more mainstream sounds. This self-titled debut is a solid start, an album good enough that it deserved plucked from obscurity and given new life so that it could live alongside the beasts.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/ADONMetal/

To buy the album, go here: https://www.neuroparecords.com/en/product/adon-482

For more on the label, go here: https://www.neuroparecords.com/